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Ninja in popular culture

Ninja characters are often identified by their use of traditional bladed and ranged weapons in modern and even science-fiction settings, as well as numerous inhuman abilities such as running on water and up walls. Though depicted as nearly-invincible warriors (especially when they are the heroes of the story), they are often conversely depicted as disposable cannon fodder to be dispatched by the hero. Ninja are also often a subject of parody.

Summary

In Japan, ninja-based films and books became a popular culture craze during the 1950s and early 1960s. The theme remained popular, expanding into numerous comic books and video games. In Japan, the word shinobi and its variants are often used instead of ninja.

The first major appearance of the ninja in Western popular culture was in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, in which the Japanese secret service employs a top secret ninja force to play a critical role in helping the British spy stop SPECTRE's grandest scheme. Western fascination with the ninja bloomed in the 1980s, especially in the United States. Several American ninja movies starring Sho Kosugi were released in the 1980s, largely responsible for introducing the ninja to the American pop culture.

Modern entertainment has shown ninja as either expendable redshirts attacking in large numbers, or as nearly invulnerable solitary warriors (who are often unmasked in contrast). An example of both depictions can be found in the American Ninja and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, where a small group of protagonists (ninja) easily defeat waves of incompetent enemy ninja on multiple occasions only to have far more trouble when facing a more competent lone ninja. This seemingly inconsistent portrayal is jokingly explained by fans using the sarcastic "Inverse Ninja Law", which states that ninja are weaker when they are in larger groups.

As far back as the late 19th century, erotic art was made using the ninja theme. Usually the images were ones of violent entry and rape. The ninja, using his strength and ability to gain entry to any place, would tie up or slay men and rape women at their pleasure. Japanese Ninja literature and cinema still contain a powerful element of eroticism, including some pornography, often focusing on ninja women.

The term ninjer originated in poorly dubbed ninja and kung-fu films. The reason for this unusual pronunciation is unknown. The term has since become associated with the more outrageous depictions of ninjas as well as martial arts enthusiasts who style themselves after these fantasy images.

Shōgun: Ninja assassins are featured in one of the final chapters of this novel by James Clavell.

Tales of the Otori: The Tribe is an entity of five families of ninja with powers such as invisibility, splitting themselves temporarily, a stare that induces sleep, sharper hearing and eyesight, faster reflexes etc.

Comic books

Notable series

DC Universe

Characters with the sort of mystical and superhuman martial arts abilities attributed to the ninja occur in the DC Universe. One character who is portrayed in a fashion similar to a ninja is master martial artist and assassin Lady Shiva. The most recent Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, also has the qualities of the Western perception of a ninja. The retconned stealth and martial arts training of the recent Batman incarnations, condensed in the Batman origin film, Batman Begins, has led many latter day Batman fans to assume that Batman is a ninja. Ra's Al Ghul specifically mentions ninja during his training of Bruce Wayne.

G.I. Joe

The G.I. Joe series of comic books featured ninja far more than the cartoon series, and many story arcs revolved around Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, Jinx, Kamakura, Firefly and the Arashikage ninja clan, which consisted of an extended family of ninja characters (never featured in the toyline or cartoon). Other characters in the comic who received ninja training from the Arashikage clan and their associates were Cobra Commander's son Billy and the shapeshifter Zartan. The massive popularity of the ninja characters completely overtook the more conventional army characters, and creator Larry Hama was pressured by Hasbro to create more ninja for the series.

TMNT

In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) series, all four main characters and many of their friends and foes are ninja, including the deadly Foot Clan (pastiche of Marvel's The Hand). The comic archived a massive popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s, which resulted in a franchise of four movies, three animated series, numerous video games, and a wide range of toys and merchandise.

The Tick: The Tick fights ninja enemies and has a female ninja ally. In the Tick's universe, most ninja in America are generally bumbling characters who are seen as more of a nuisance than a threat. Their lair is a ninja-themed amusement park.

There were several dozen of "Ninja"-titled Z-movies by the Hong Kong-based low budget director Godfrey Ho, with the titles such as Full Metal Ninja, Vampire Raiders: Ninja Queen, Ninja in the Killing Fields, Ninja Death Squad, Ninja Terminator, Ninja Operation: Licensed to Terminate, Ninja the Violent Sorcerer, or Zombie vs. Ninja (which featured no zombie).

The Master: A ninja action-adventure TV series starring Lee Van Cleef as John Peter McAllister, an aged American veteran and ninja master who returns to the United States, and also featuring Sho Kosugi.

The Samurai (Onmitsu Kenshi): The 1960s Japanese TV series featuring the samurai Akikusa Shintaro and Tombei the Mist the Iga ninja. The series was responsible for a significant wave of interest in ninja among younger viewers in Japan and other countries where the series was screened. It is notable, however, that the series was only screened in a few countries outside Japan (including Australia and the Philippines) and the impact of the ninja phenomenon was not felt in other western countries until considerably later.

MadTV: Several Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme parodies, including one Steven Seagal When Harry Met Sally parody that had a ninja in it. Another Steven Segal parody had Seagal filming a Kung Fu movie with ninja in it, and an Average Asian skit that had him summoning a ninja attack. Another skit was called noodles and ninja.

Robot Chicken: One episode had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in it. Another episode had them appear old. Another episode had a kid dressed as a ninja. Another one had a Batman Begins parody with ninja. Another episode had a Jewish James Bond parody with ninja. Another episode had Smoke fighting Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat characters). Another episode had a TV show called "Ninja Stars".

City of Heroes and City of Villains: Both MMORPGs allow the player to create their own hero or villain. In both games, players are able to create a ninja, and customize much of their appearance, and some of their skills.

Dead or Alive series :From the creators of Ninja Gaiden, this fighting game series features several ninja characters including Ryu Hayabusa, Ayane, Hayate, and Kasumi, the runaway ninja who is the main character of the series.

Ganbare Goemon series: The fantasy series of games loosely based around the historical character of Ishikawa Goemon, the titular character is a ninja, as well as recurring characters Ebisumaru, Sasuke and Yae.

Soul series: A weapon-based fighting game series on several platforms that features two ninja characters: Taki, a kunoichi demon hunter who appears in Soul Edge as well as all the Soul Calibur titles, and Yoshimitsu who originated in the Tekken series.

Street Fighter series: Both series feature Guy Maki from Final Fight series, as well as the Street Fighter-only ninja Geki and a teenage ninja girl Ibuki.

Strider series: A videogame series in which the titular Striders are a group of futuristic ninja.

Tenchu series: A series of stealth-action video games that feature the ninja characters Rikimaru and Ayame in a fantasy feudal Japan setting, credited as being the first attempt at a quasi-realistic ninja "simulation". The game's developer, Activision, used Sho Koshugi and his son, Kane Koshugi, as ninjutsuka references.

Stolen: Stealth game which includes a female ninja named Breeze as the heroine's nemesis.

Streets of Rage series: In the second and third game there is a series of enemies that are ninja (Kusanagi, Hanzou, Ryuohin, Ranzou, Yagasira, Setsura, Izayoi, Unsai, Tenzen, Genyosai, Kanzou, Jay, Buoh, Huwa and Mutsu), as well as the bosses called Shiva and Onihime and Yasha.

Super Mario Bros: Several game have a species of ninja enemies called Ninjis and Paper Mario has a group parodying the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Misc

In a massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), ninja can be used as an adjective to describe a player who has stolen another players item. If a player is labelled a ninja in MMORPG they are often rejected by the community and find it difficult to join guilds or raid parties.

Pucca: Korean media franchise sparked by a Flash animation, including book and TV series.

Real Ultimate Power: A humour website created by Robert A. Hamburger (as "Robert Hamburger", a 13-year-old character) about ninja, whom he constantly describes with superlatives such as "totally sweet".

Recent internet spoofs have often pitted ninja against pirates and asked which would win in a Pirates versus Ninja fight. In fact, a comic book dedicated to the concept of Pirates versus Ninja exists, produced by Antarctic Press.

Music

Bands and musicians
Several musicians and bands have the word ninja in their name, among them: